RCI – Canada will formally apologize to the country’s Italian-Canadian community for the way it was treated during the Second World War when some 31,000 Italian-Canadians were declared enemy aliens and 600 Italian-Canadian men were sent to internment camps.
“I’m proud to stand up and say that our government will right these wrongs with a formal apology in the month of May,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons yesterday in reply to a question from Liberal MP Angelo Iacono, while noting that Canadians of Italian heritage “deal with ongoing discrimination related to mistakes made by our governments of the past that that continue to this day.”
A 2017 CBC Doc Project documentary told the story of one of those detainees, Francesco Scappatura, who was taken from his home in North Bay, Ont. in 1940 to an internment camp in Petawawa. Ont., where he was held there with his brother Vincenzo, his brother-in-law Carmine and over 500 other men. The documentary was made by Francesco Scappatura’s granddaughter Angela.
Italian-Canadians to get formal apology for treatment during Second World War
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will issue a formal apology next month for the treatment of Italian-Canadians during the Second World War. The government said in a news release that 600 Italian-Canadian men were interned in camps in Canada after Italy allied with Germany and joined the war in 1940. Some 31,000 other Italian-Canadians were declared enemy aliens.
Trudeau to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa on April 13, 2021. POLITICS Italian-Canadians to get formal apology for treatment during Second World War formal apology for treatment of Italian-Canadians during Second World War
Toronto Star – Trudeau to apologize to Italians mistreated in Canada during WWII. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will issue a formal apology to Italians mistreated in Canada during the Second World War. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will issue a formal apology next month for the treatment of Italian-Canadians during the Second World War. The government said in a news release that 600 Italian-Canadian men were interned in camps in Canada after Italy allied with Germany and joined the war in 1940. Some 31,000 other Italian-Canadians were declared enemy aliens. Trudeau told the House of Commons Wednesday that his government “will right these wrongs” by issuing a formal apology in May. In 1988, Canada formally apologized and offered $300 million in compensation to Japanese-Canadians, 22,000 of whom were interned in camps during the Second World War.
